"Hurry, hurry, hurry …"
"Be careful …"
"Don't block the wounded …"
"Get out of the way! Get out of the way — "
Chaotic voices gathered together. Soldiers poured in from the city gate and blocked the road. All kinds of smells filled the air. The smell of gunpowder, the smell of burning, and the smell of blood … Amidst the shouts of the people, the groans of the wounded soldiers, and the neighing of the wounded warhorses, a scene of war was painted.
A group of guards in bright yellow armor came down from the city wall and joined in the work of clearing the road and the flow of people. On one side of the road, Lou Shuwan was walking quickly around the city wall. Looking out from the top of the city wall, she saw the defeated soldiers coming back from the mountains.
"Tell the convoy to turn around and leave from the southwest gate. We can't go this way for the time being."
"If we go to the southwest, we will need to take a long detour …" The accompanying official said.
"Then take a detour."
"Yes."
The official received the order and left. He went down the city wall and merged into the chaotic crowd. Lou Shuwan also went down with her trusted guards. Shi Jin also followed her all the way. In the process of going down the city wall, Lou Shuwan quickly issued two orders. The first was to control the defeated soldiers in the city to rest in a fixed place and not to spread to the whole city. The second was to hope that Yu Yulin's troops outside could cut off the pursuers of the defeated soldiers.
After the division of the land of Jin, many big clans led by Liao Yiren surrendered to the Jurchen. After that, the first thing he did was to mobilize all the troops under his command and kill Yu Yulin, Lou Shuwan, and the other forces that refused to surrender. Prince Jin's forces, which were originally able to mobilize more than a million troops, first faced the situation of internal strife. Behind the Han soldiers at the front line, Zong Han and Xi Yin raised their troops and pushed all the way to Wei Sheng.
Wei Sheng had built five lines of defense in the north. Now, four of them had been broken. Yu Yulin was fighting outside. Lou Shuwan and Wei Sheng stabilized the internal affairs of the people while moving the military and materials. Every day, the news that came was the news of defeat and death. Every day, the corpses of the injured soldiers were piled up like a mountain. The smell of blood became clear even in the majestic Celestial Palace.
"… There's a section of the Zihe River in the west. Last year, the bridge collapsed. During the spring floods, it's not easy for carriages to travel. Let Protector Li bring the pontoon team over and build a bridge when they meet water. Within three days, this team of rations must be delivered. They must rush back to send the second batch … Also, inform He Yi … "
The group was passing by the side of the street, and next to them was a group of defeated soldiers. When the woman in black said this, she suddenly froze. Then, she quickly walked to the side. This caused the group of defeated soldiers to pause for a moment. Some people recognized her identity, and for a moment, they were a little frightened. The woman walked to a row of stretchers and examined the faces on the stretchers that were covered in blood.
The man on the stretcher had his eyes closed, and his breathing was weak. It was unclear whether he had fainted or was too weak. His lips were slightly open and trembling from the pain. Lou Shuwan lifted the blood-stained white cloth that covered his body. When she saw the condition under his knees, her gaze trembled slightly, and then she covered the white cloth again.
"… With his legs broken, he might still be able to live, Lord Lou …"
Shi Jin leaned over from the side and whispered to her to signal the rear of the group to slow down the commotion caused by the speed. Lou Shuwan nodded and retreated to the rear. The rolling crowd flowed forward. After a while, the man on the stretcher was pushed into the distance, out of sight. A trusted aide beside her asked, "Lord, do you want me to ask where this person was sent to?"
Lou Shuwan was startled and nodded subconsciously. Then, she shook her head, "No … forget it … I just know him …"
She knew him, but it was not intimate. Perhaps it was not important.
The middle-aged man on the stretcher was called Zeng Yuhuai. Before the war last year, he was the pedantic scholar who had confessed to her in the yard full of lanterns. The war with the Female Zhenren had started, and he had gone to the battlefield. Lou Shuwan had never paid attention to him. She thought that a person like him would be a scribe in a certain army. Sometimes, she thought that perhaps this pedantic scholar would suddenly die somewhere, and she would not know. This was war.
She had never thought that Ceng Yuhuai would be able to survive the chaos of war to this day, nor had she ever thought that they would have such a glimpse of each other. On the stretcher, Zeng Yuhuai's legs were broken at the knees. Then, he was drowned by the rolling crowd.
She clenched her fists. After a while, she took a deep breath, swallowed the suffocating feeling that enveloped her whole body, and walked forward.
She clenched her fists. After a while, she took a deep breath and swallowed the suffocating feeling that enveloped her whole body with difficulty. Then, she walked forward.
"… inform … inform He Yi that I have no time to go to the Wenshu Pavilion. All the books must be loaded into the carriage tonight. The artifacts can be sent to the Celestial Palace a few days later. The book collector didn't go out tonight. I will punish him according to military law … "
Along the way, they were followed by carriages. When they returned to the Celestial Palace, a group of carriages and horses were entering the palace from the side gate. Some of these carriages were loaded with the rare artifacts collected in Jin over the years. Some of the carriages were loaded with kerosene, trees, and other items. An internal official of the palace came to report that some ministers were requesting an audience. After Lou Shuwan heard the names, she ignored them.
She, Shi Jin, and the others climbed up the city wall of the Celestial Palace. The sun was setting in the sky, and the chaos inside and outside the city came into view. The kerosene and artifacts were sent into the palace. Zeng Yuhuai, whose legs were broken, was nowhere to be found. Many people in the city wanted to escape, but there were still people who were plowing and farming the newly cultivated land outside the city. They hoped that this unknown fire of karma would let some people live.
Below the city wall, some people came over noisily. It was the old officials who came to seek an audience. They were highly respected. They climbed up the wall and came in front of Lou Shuwan. They began to explain the importance and preciousness of those rare artifacts to Lou Shuwan.
"… I moved them into the palace just to protect them. These artifacts were collected by Tiger King in the past. They are the treasures of your houses. I did not harm you. You don't have to worry … "
Lou Shuwan used formulaic words to answer the people, but they didn't buy it. Some exposed Lou Shuwan's lies on the spot, and some patiently described the preciousness of these artifacts, persuading Lou Shuwan to use part of the transportation capacity to move them away. Lou Shuwan just looked at them quietly.
"All of you are highly respected and knowledgeable. Do you know the story of King Goujian of Yue and King He Lu of Wu?"
Her body was exhausted. She held onto the city wall and paused for a moment. However, her eyes were clear.
"Taishi Gong's' Records of the Grand Historian '. The chapter of King Goujian of Yue 'states:' In the first year, King He Lu of Wu heard that Yun Chang had died. King Goujian of Yue sent his death warriors to challenge him. Three days later, they arrived at Wu and Chen. When Master Wu saw it, Yue attacked Master Wu, and Wu was defeated by Jue and Li. 'I don't need to explain it, right? "
As she recounted the story, everyone's expression became slightly hesitant. Everyone present naturally understood the meaning of the story. This was the first battle after King Goujian of Yue succeeded the throne. When King He Lu of Wu heard that King Yun Chang had passed away, he sent his army to suppress Goujian. Goujian chose a group of death warriors. Before the battle started, the death warriors stepped out and killed themselves in front of the Wu soldiers. When the Wu soldiers saw that the Yue people were so reckless, their morale was shaken and they were defeated. King He Lu of Wu also died in this battle.
The setting sun was bright red, and the huge sunset glow seemed to burn the entire horizon. The figure of the black-clothed woman, who was supporting herself with one hand on the wall, was frail but firm. The night wind blew her sleeves and skirt, but under this dress, at this moment, she looked like steel, indomitable and unshakable.
She looked at the officials, and everyone was silent for a moment.
"If Zong Han comes, I won't leave a single tile for him … Some of you can tell him."
Everyone looked at each other, shocked. Then, they began to express their determination to resist the gold.
Below the city wall, only weapons and food were sent to the palace and transported out of the palace and the city.
The negotiation on the city wall naturally parted on bad terms. After everyone left the palace and heard Lou Shuwan's attitude, there were actually only a few who felt unhappy. In the palace, Lou Shuwan returned to her room and asked the internal official about Zhan Wu's whereabouts. After learning that he was not in the city, she did not ask in detail. "Where did the black flag led by General Zhu Biao go?"
"The news just now was that it reached the Daimyo Residence last night."
"…" Lou Shuwan was silent for a long time, until the room was almost buzzing. Then, she nodded. "… Oh."
The sunset swept across the sky. Everything would eventually be swallowed by this tide.
In the fifth month of this year, when the army led by Zong Han knocked on the city gates of Wei Sheng, the entire city burned in a raging fire for three days and was burnt to the ground. Just as Lou Shuwan said, not a single tile was left for the female enlightened person.
*****
In April in the southwest, the late spring weather began to become sunny. On the Chengdu plains, the spring plowing had already ended.
Zhuo Yongqing served as the liaison officer between the Fifth Army and the General Staff Headquarters, temporarily living in Chen Village.
In February, he decided to marry He Xiu, the crippled girl from Jiading. Although it was an engagement, he was confused about the whole process. On the man's side, it was Hou Wu, Qu Qing, and other elder brothers who were fully in charge. On the woman's side, his sister, He Ying, who had a strong opinion of him, became the firm promoter of this marriage. Perhaps this was because she considered that his sister was introverted and lame, and could not find a better husband.
Although most of the matters were handled by others, Zhuo Yongqing himself had naturally given this marriage a lot of thought. The engagement ceremony was personally presided over by Mister Ning, which was considered a very prestigious event.
However, after the engagement, Zhuo Yongqing was used as a laborer by his sister, He Ying. She called him to help with the spring plowing and farming, and was no longer polite. Even so, this sister was not lazy. When Zhuo Yongqing went to the fields to transplant rice seedlings, she did the same. Her farming speed was not any slower than Zhuo Yongqing, who was in the prime of his life. This made Zhuo Yongqing look at her in a new light. When the two of them worked, his sister, He Xiu, would often watch from the fields and bring food and water for the two of them. Although this kind of work was busy, most of the time, it also made Zhuo Yongqing feel calm.
However, the atmosphere in Chen Village was not relaxed.
The expansion of the Hua Xia Army's management system was to prepare for the Fifth Army's deployment. Thousands of miles away, to the north of the Yellow River, or near Xuzhou, battles had already broken out. Although the people in the General Staff Headquarters could not go north, every day, news from all over the world came in, and it always aroused their common enemy.
Prince Jin's death made people's hearts palpitate, and the determination and determination of Zhu Biao's, Wang Juyun's, and Yu Yulin's troops in the battle was also inspiring. When the news of Shu Liesu's defeat came, the entire General Staff Headquarters was as lively as if it was a festival. But then, people were also worried about the danger of the following situation.
In the past three months, many people in the General Staff Headquarters privately raised their opinions to Ning Yi and other senior staff officers, pointing out that the situation in the daimyo's residence could not be resolved. They hoped that Zhu Biao, who was at the frontlines, would be able to turn around a little and not force himself in the face of a dead end. Zhuo Yongqing occasionally participated in such discussions, and he could see the bitterness and hesitation in everyone's eyes.
Mister Ning did not express his opinion on these opinions. In the past, if Mister Ning had an opinion, he would explain it to the people in the General Staff Headquarters and make a decision. But only this matter, his gaze was solemn, and he never spoke. In the end, the orders and suggestions from thousands of miles away were not issued.
On the third day of the fourth month, the battlefield decision of the Hua Xia Army led by Zhu Biao — now known as the 17th Army — was urgently sent to Chen Village. On the night of the 26th of the fourth month, the General Staff Headquarters of the 17th Army made the decision and deployment to rescue Wang Shan's Moonlight Martial Army. When the news was sent, the whole battle might have already come to an end.
On the evening of the eighth day of the fourth month, Zhuo Yongqing came to report to Ning Yi. The two sat down on the stone bench in the yard. The seven-year-old Xiaoning Ke brought him tea, and then they played in the yard. Halfway through the report, someone sent an urgent message. Ning Yi opened the message and looked at it in silence.
The warm-hearted Xiaoning Ke on the side realized that something was wrong. She walked over and carefully looked at her father, who was staring at the message with his head lowered. The yard was quiet for a while, and Ning Ke said, "Father, are you crying?"
Ning Yi reached out and held his daughter beside his legs. After a moment of silence, he raised his head and said, "No, I'm not crying."
When he first came to this world, Ning Yi's attitude toward the people around him was always kind and gentle. But in fact, he was steady and restrained, and there was even a bit of indifference in his heart. When he took control of the whole Hua Xia army, at least in the eyes of Zhuo Yongqing and the others, "Mister Ning" seemed steady and calm in everything. Whether it was his spirit or his personality, he was as tough as steel. Only at this moment, when Zhuo Yongqing saw him stand up, he trembled slightly.
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